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Antares is a two-stage rocket which can lift payloads up to 5,000 kilograms to orbit. The first stage, or booster, is fueled by kerosene and liquid oxygen. The upper stage portion, which actually carries the payload, is filled with solid fuel.

Antares first test launch attempt was scrubbed Wednesday April 17, 2013 due to the premature disconnection of a data communications umbilical cable from the rocket's upper stage. The next test launch attempt is targeted from April 19, 2013, at 5 p.m. EDT. A demonstration launch attempt to deliver cargo to the International Space Station is scheduled for this summer.

Watch the full Space Station Live broadcast weekdays on NASA TV at 10 a.m. CDT.

The launch tests the systems and procedures for roll-out, launch, ascent and stage and payload separation. The test flight also features a Cygnus spacecraft simulator that will be put into low-Earth orbit. In the future, an actual Cygnus spacecraft will launch inside a payload fairing atop the Antares rocket and deliver cargo to the International Space Station.

The test launch is the first one for Orbital Sciences under a partnership agreement with NASA. If the test launch is successful a second demonstration mission, planned for the summer, will see a visit to the International Space Station.

Watch the full Space Station Live broadcast weekdays on NASA TV at 10 a.m. CDT.

Space Station Live: Astronaut Mike Fossum Talks About Life on the Station – 04.17.13› Watch video

Public Affairs Officer Amiko Kauderer interviews NASA astronaut Mike Fossum in the Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center. Fossum, who also served as Expedition 29 commander, discusses living and working aboard the International Space Station.

While a crew is on-orbit, resupply crafts replenish the station and deliver gear and fresh food. Afterwards, a resupply craft such as the Russian Progress spaceship is filled with trash, undocks and burns up over the Pacific Ocean. The SpaceX commercial cargo craft has returned to Earth carrying experiment samples for further study on the ground.

The space station is also an orbital laboratory with numerous ongoing experiments carried out by astronauts, scientists on the ground and autonomously. The science that is taking place on-orbit has potential benefits for life on Earth as well as advancements for future space exploration.

Watch the full Space Station Live broadcast weekdays on NASA TV at 10 a.m. CDT.